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1.
Gregory A. Norris 《The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment》2001,6(2):118-120
The private sector decision making situations which LCA addresses mustalso eventually take theeconomic consequences of alternative products or product designs into account. However, neither the internal nor external economic
aspects of the decisions are within the scope of developed LCA methodology, nor are they properly addressed by existing LCA
tools. This traditional separation of life cycle environmental assessment from economic analysis has limited the influence
and relevance of LCA for decision-making, and left uncharacterized the important relationships and trade-offs between the
economic and life cycle environmental performance of alternative product design decision scenarios. Still standard methods
of LCA can and have been tightly, logically, and practically integrated with standard methods for cost accounting, life cycle
cost analysis, and scenario-based economic risk modeling. The result is an ability to take both economic and environmental
performance — and their tradeoff relationships — into account in product/process design decision making. 相似文献
2.
Andreas Kicherer Stefan Schaltegger Heinrich Tschochohei Beatriz Ferreira Pozo 《The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment》2007,12(7):537-543
Goal, Scope and Background The eco-efficiency analysis and portfolio is a powerful decision support tool for various strategic and marketing issues.
Since its original academic development, the approach has been refined during the last decade and applied to a multitude of
projects. BASF, as possibly the most prominent company using and developing this tool, has applied the eco-efficiency approach
to more than 300 projects in the last 7 years. One of the greatest difficulties is to cover both dimensions of eco-efficiency
(costs or value added and environmental impact) in a comparable manner. This is particularly a challenge for the eco-efficiency
analyses of products.
Methods In this publication, an important approach and field of application dealing with product decisions based on the combination
of Life Cycle Cost (LCC) and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is described in detail. Special emphasis is put on the quantitative
assessment of the relation of costs and environmental impacts. In conventional LCA an assessment of environmental impact categories
is often made by normalization with inhabitant equivalents. This is necessary to be able to compare the different environmental
impact categories, because of each different unit. For the proposed eco-efficiency analysis, the costs of products or processes
are also normalized with adapted gross domestic product figures.
Results and Discussion The ratio between normalized environmental impact categories and normalized costs (RE,C) is used for the graphical presentation of the results in an eco-efficiency portfolio. For the interpretation of the results
of an eco-efficiency analysis, it is important to distinguish ratios RE,C which are higher than one from ratios lower than one. In the first case, the environmental impact is higher than the cost
impact, while the inverse is true in the second case. This is very important for defining which kind of improvement is needed
and defining strategic management decisions. The paper shows a statistical evaluation of the RE,C factor based on the results of different eco-efficiency analyses made by BASF. For industries based on large material flows
(e.g. chemicals, steel, metals, agriculture), the RE,C factor is typically higher than one.
Conclusions and Recommendations This contribution shows that LCC and LCA may be combined in a way that they mirror the concept of eco-efficiency. LCAs that
do not consider LCC may be of very limited use for company management. For that very reason, corporations should install a
data management system that ensures equal information on both sides of the eco-efficiency coin. 相似文献
3.
This paper explores the use of LCA as a tool for process environmental management, thereby moving the focus from product to
process oriented analysis. The emphasis is on Improvement Assessment in which the “hot spots” in the system are targeted for
maximum environmental improvements. In this context, it is useful to use multiobjective optimisation which renders Valuation
unnecessary.
The approach is illustrated by the case study of the system processing boron ores to make five different products. The results
of Inventory Analysis and Impact Assessment are presented and discussed. In Improvement Assessment, a number of improvement
options are identified and evaluated, using system optimisation. It is shown that the site environmental performance can be
improved over current operation by an average of 20% over the whole life cycle. Thus the study demonstrates that the optimisation
approach to environmental process management may assist in identifying optimal ways to operate a process or plant from “cradle
to grave”. This may help the process industries not only to comply with legislation but also provide a framework for taking
a more proactive approach to environmental management leading to more sustainable industrial operations and practices. 相似文献
4.
5.
Harald Neitzel 《The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment》1997,2(4):241-249
The present state of worldwide discussions of how to apply LCA in environmental labelling, taking into account the current
ISO 14 020 and ISO 14 024 works, is described. There is a consensus to use LCA as a tool for more scientific environmental
labelling. The examples presented verify some practical possibilities to realise this approach. As a background to different
stages of practical labelling, results from LCA studies are already used in the German “Blue Angel” scheme, e.g. for the definition
of the scope in one product category, for the priorisation of specific life cycle phases and criteria, as a basis to establish
a scoring system or to emphasise the importance of information on how to use environmentally sound products. Practical examples
are presented in detail for hand-drying systems, paper products, milk packages, household equipment, televisions and detergents.
Some future perspectives are mentioned.
Presentation at “The Second International Conference on EcoBalance - The New Stage of LCA as a Common Language”, Nov. 18,
19 and 20, 1996 Tsukuba, Japan 相似文献
6.
A study has been performed on Danish industry’s experiences with LCA. Twenty-six enterprises from different sectors conpleted
a questionnaire. The enterprises are still in an adoption and learning phase, and experiences with full-blown LCA’s are sparse.
Expectations of future market pressure to supply more environmentally friendly products is the most important incentive for
the enterprises to engage in LCA activities. This pressure, however, has not yet emerged and the enterprises have not achieved
the expected competitive advantages. LCA work has revealed new environmental aspects of the products with subsequent new priorities
in the environmental efforts. Only a few enterprises have built up in-house LCA competence, whereas consultants are heavily
involved in LCA work. In large enterprises, LCA work is predominantly carried out by environmental staff members, but the
product development staff is also involved. The nature of the co-operation and distribution of roles between these two actors
is not clear, and should therefore be studied further. 相似文献
7.
Merete Høgaas Eide Thomas Ohlsson 《The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment》1998,3(4):209-215
Two different methods for Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) applied to the dairy industry was performed at two dairies. In the simplified
method, total environmental loads from a dairy was registred and allocated to liquid milk. Energy and emissions are measured
for each process step for the detailed method. Both methods have advantages and disadvantages. The simplified method captures
all energy and emissions of dairy processing, but treats the dairy as a “black box”. The energy consumption was found to be
1, 27 MJ/1 and 2,55 MJ/1 for the two dairies. By use of the detailed method it is easy to “loose” information, and it is very
time consuming. The energy consumption was lower than for the simplified method. The environmental loads can on the other
hand be divided on the different process steps. The main conclusion is that choice of method depends on the purpose of the
LCA-study. 相似文献
8.
Karen G. Shapiro 《The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment》2001,6(2):121-123
The goal of LCA is to identify the environmental impacts resulting from a product, process, or activity. While LCA is useful
for evaluating environmental attributes, it stops short of providing information that business managers routinely utilize
for decision-making — i.e., dollars. Thus, decisions regarding the processes used for manufacturing products and the materials
comprising those products can be enhanced by weaving cost and environmental information into the decision-making process.
Various approaches have been used during the past decade to supplement environmental information with cost information. One
of these tools is environmental accounting, the identification, analysis, reporting, and use of environmental information,
including environmental cost data. Environmental cost accounting provides information necessary for identifying the true costs
of products and processes and for evaluating opportunities to minimize those costs. As demonstrated through two case studies,
many companies are incorporating environmental cost information into their accounting systems to prioritize investments in
new technologies and products. 相似文献
9.
Rolf Frischknecht Reinout Heijungs Patrick Hofstetter 《The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment》1998,3(5):266-272
The role and meaning of accounting for energy, including feedstock energy, is reviewed in connection to Einstein’s special
theory of relativity. It is argued that there is only one unambiguous interpretation of the term energy-content: The one that
corresponds tome The implications for life cycle inventories is that all discussions concerning upper heating value, lower heating value,
feedstock energy, etc. are pointless as long as the motivation for choosing one or the other is not specified in relation
to the safeguard subjects defined for a particular analysis (LCA or energy analysis). The subjective aspects of energy accounting
schemes, even though based on mere thermodynamics, are highlighted. In inventory analysis, it is recommended that energy carriers
should be accounted separately and in mass terms.
For illustrative purposes, energy statistics and energy assessment are discussed in view of the safeguard subjects underlying
the accounting procedures. Based on a set of theses, one possible energy accounting scheme as an indicator of the “consumption
of non-renewable energy resources” within the impact assessment of LCA is sketched. It is emphasised that energy accounting
schemes do not reflect environmental impacts caused by the energy sources, and the characteristics of the indicator “consumption
of non-renewable energy resources” introduced here are highlighted.
An erratum to this article is available at . 相似文献
10.
Julien Matheys Wout Van Autenboer Jean-Marc Timmermans Joeri Van Mierlo Peter Van den Bossche Gaston Maggetto 《The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment》2007,12(3):191-196
Goal, Scope and Background This paper describes the influence of the choice of the functional unit on the results of an environmental assessment of different
battery technologies for electric and hybrid vehicles. Battery, hybrid and fuel cell electric vehicles are considered as being
environmentally friendly. However, the batteries they use are sometimes said to be environmentally unfriendly. At the current
state of technology different battery types can be envisaged: lead-acid, nickel-cadmium, nickel-metal hydride, lithium-ion
and sodium-nickel chloride. The environmental impacts described in this paper are based on a life cycle assessment (LCA) approach.
One of the first critical stages of LCA is the definition of an appropriate and specific functional unit for electric and
hybrid vehicle application. Most of the known LCA studies concerning batteries were performed while choosing different functional
units, although this choice can influence the final results. An adequate functional unit, allowing to compare battery technologies
in their real life vehicle application should be chosen.
The results of the LCA are important as they will be used as a decision support for the end-of-life vehicles directive 2000/53/EC
(Official Journal of the European Communities L269/24 2000). As a consequence, a thorough analysis is required to define an
appropriate functional unit for the assessment of batteries for electric vehicles. This paper discusses this issue and will
mainly focus on traction batteries for electric vehicles.
Main Features An overview of the different parameters to be considered in the definition of a functional unit to compare battery technologies
for battery electric vehicle application is described and discussed. An LCA study is performed for the most relevant potential
functional units. SimaPro 6 is used as a software tool and Eco-indicator 99 as an impact assessment method. The influence
of the different selected functional units on the results (Eco-indicator Points) is discussed. The environmental impact of
the different electric vehicle battery technologies is described. A sensitivity analysis illustrates the robustness of the
obtained results.
Results and Discussion Five main parameters are considered in each investigated functional unit: an equal depth of discharge is assumed, a relative
number of batteries required during the life of the vehicle is calculated, the energy losses in the battery and the additional
vehicle consumption due to the battery mass is included and the same lifetime distance target is taken into account. On the
basis of the energy content, battery mass, number of cycles and vehicle autonomy three suitable functional units are defined:
‘battery packs with an identical mass’, ‘battery packs with an identical energy content’ and ‘battery packs with an identical
one-charge range’.
The results show that the differences in the results between these three functional units are small and imply less variation
on the results than the other uncertainties inherent to LCA studies. On the other hand, the results obtained using other,
less adequate, functional units can be quite different.
Conclusions When performing an LCA study, it’s important to choose an appropriate functional unit. Most of the time, this choice is unambiguous.
However, sometimes this choice is more complicated when different correlated parameters have to be considered, as it is the
case for traction batteries. When using a realistic functional unit, the result is not influenced significantly by the choice
of one out of the three suitable functional units.
Additionally, the life cycle assessment allowed concluding that three electric vehicle battery technologies have a comparable
environmental impact: lead-acid, nickel-cadmium and nickel-metal hydride. Lithium-ion and sodium-nickel chloride have lower
environmental impacts than the three previously cited technologies when used in a typical battery electric vehicle application.
Recommendations and Perspectives The article describes the need to consider all relevant parameters for the choice of a functional unit for an electric vehicle
battery, as this choice can influence the conclusions. A more standardised method to define the functional unit could avoid
these differences and could make it possible to compare the results of different traction battery LCA studies more easily. 相似文献
11.
This paper deals with the question of whether Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs), with their focus on objective and quantitative
results, are the best way to support public policy processes. The public policy making process is characterized as a continuous
discoursive struggle. Criteria are defined to distinguish between good and bad public policy discourses to judge the effects
of LCA on the public policy process. Many policy scientists argue that methodologies that emphasize quantification and the
use of formal methods are not beneficial for sound public policy making. An empirical report of the role LCAs played in public
policy making processes on PVC and chlorine in the Netherlands is made to evaluate the contribution of LCAs to public policy
making processes and to identify the main limitations of the current LCA methodologies and practices. It appears that political
actors tend to use LCAs in a polarizing way. LCAs are easily misused due to their apparent objectivity, and the quantitative
and black box nature of their results. LCAs contain an implicit, normative frame that does not match the environmentalists’
perception on the kind of evidence needed on toxic effects of organochlorines, which reduced the open nature of the Dutch
PVC debate. It is recommended to develop a methodology for product evaluation that approaches the issue in a more open and
emergent way to prevent “premature closure” of the analysis. It is expected that a focus on the development of balanced, rich
arguments on facts and values in the study process will be more fruitful than the calculation of integral, quantitative indicators. 相似文献
12.
Günter Fleischer Wulf-Peter Schmidt 《The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment》1997,2(1):20-24
A screening and simplified LCA method, is essential necessary to include environmental aspects in the stage of Research and
Development (R&D) of products and processes. An interactive, iterative and integrative eco-design tool using the top-down
approach in the identification of advanced materials is being developed in a joint project performed by six research institutes.
The principles and methods as well as some examples for the validation of the screening LCA as well as its application in
eco-design in case studies are presented in this article. 相似文献
13.
14.
Angeline S. H. de Beaufort Ueli Stahel 《The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment》1998,3(6):317-320
FEFCO, Groupement Ondulé and Kraft Institute have integrated the data from their recently published updated “European Database
for Corrugated Board Life Cycle Studies” into a software tool that has been developed especially for the corrugated board
industry. The tool links input and output data reported in the Database to average European data for upstream and downstream
processes from BUWAL 250 [3]. The tool is intended to support environmental management of companies since it provides a possibility
to find opportunities for improvements and to take environment into consideration when designing corrugated board boxes.
The entire system of corrugated packaging is the basis for the calculations. It is assumed that the fibres that are used for
the production of the corrugated base papers are produced and recycled only within this system. This simplified so-called
closedloop approach, which is described in detail in the Database report, avoids the problem of allocating impacts caused
by primary fibre production and the final treatment of corrugated packaging that is not recycled between primary and recovered
fibre based paper grades. This means that with the software tool it is not possible to make comparisons between the production
of primary fibre and recovered fibre based materials as such.
The tool enables the user to vary parameters such as transport, box design, logistics and waste management according to his
personal circumstances. In this way he can use the tool to introduce parameters for possible alternatives he wants to investigate.
The LCA results of these alternative cases can then be compared and analysed at inventory, characterisation, normalisation
and weighing level. The user cannot change the basic data nor the methodology. 相似文献
15.
Luis Bárzaga-Castellanos Ronald Neufert Gernot Kayser Bernd Markert 《The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment》1999,4(6):329-339
The overall reduction of the environmental impact by the use of selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of nitrogen oxide emissions
in power plants was determined by strict application of ISO 14040 and ISO/DIS 14041. Special emphasis was placed on the implementation
of the total product life cycle (PLC) of ammonium molybdate as a key input material. The environmental impact was generated
by application of the life cycle assessment (LCA) concept of “ecoscarcity” and integrated in the life cycle inventory analysis
(LCI) of SCR systems. The LCI was used to generate the life cycle impact assessment (LC1A) by use of different quantitative
valuation methods. Under consideration of the overall LCIA results and the environmental protection costs of the SCR variants,
the Ecological Effectiveness of the SCR alternatives was determined. The results enable plausible conclusions with regard
to the ecological advantages of the use of deNOx catalysts in the SCR used in hard-coal fired power plants. 相似文献
16.
Matthias Finkbeiner Konrad Saur Peter Eyerer Yasunari Matsuno Atsushi Inaba 《The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment》1999,4(3):127-132
Sustainable development can only be achieved if industry adoptsboth product related and organisation related environmental management tools, such as Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Environmental
Management Systems (EMS). In Japan, EMS (ISO 14001) is more widely applied than LCA (ISO 14040). Therefore,one means by which Japanese industries could be motivated to adopt and use LCA is to relate LCA-activities to the policies and
instruments of ISO 14001. The potential of such a comprehensive approach was analysed by a survey of 270 Japanese enterprises
(response rate 45%). The results indicate that 19% of the responding representatives had responsibilities for both LCA and
EMS, while the remaining only work in one of both fields. A statement in the company’s/ plant’s Environmental Policy of ISO
14001, stating that LCA is to be used as part of the EMS, was found in 42% of all companies. A surprising number (39%) either
already use, or plan to use, LCA and EMS as combinated/integrated tools. A strong argument for the establishment of a comprehensive
approach can be seen in the perception of the usefulness of LCA, which was rated significantly higher in companies that acknowledged
the complementary potential of LCA and EMS. 相似文献
17.
The application of the methodology Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is time-consuming and expensive. A definite interpretation,
furthermore, is not always derivable from the determined results. The reason for the leeway of interpretation is frequently
due to the imprecision and uncertainty of the ingoing data. An improved clearance of interpretation is to be expected by an
ecological evaluation of methodology with the support of fuzzy-sets. The influence of uncertainties of ingoing data on evaluation
results becomes transparent through a representation as fuzzy-sets. Thus, the interpretation of an uncertainty of assessment
results is reduced in comparison to usual procedures for environmental LCA thus far. Time and cost saving is to be expected
from the fact that the extensive quantification of many energy and mass flows is replaced by a fuzzy-set supported iteration
loop, with which only the exact quantification of a few important flows is necessary. 相似文献
18.
Andreas Ciroth Marcel Hagelüken Guido W. Sonnemann Francesc Castells Günter Fleischer 《The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment》2002,7(6):363-368
Goal and Background Geographical and technological differences in Life Cycle Inventory data are an important source for uncertainty in the result
of Life Cycle Assessments. Knowledge on their impact on the result of an LCA is scarce, and also knowledge on how to manage
them in an LCA case study.
Objective Goal of this paper is to explore these differences for municipal solid waste incinerator plants, and to develop recommendations
for managing technological and geographical differences.
Methodology The paper provides a definition of technological and geographical differences, and analyses their possible impacts. In a case
study, the differences are caused intentionally in ‘games’, by virtually transplanting incineration plants to a different
location and by changing parameters such as the composition of the waste input incinerated. The games are performed by using
a modular model for municipal solid waste incinerator plants. In each case, an LCA including an Impact Assessment is calculated
to trace the impact of these changes, and the results are compared.
Conclusions The conclusions of the paper are two-fold: (1) reduce the differences in inventory data where their impact on the result is
high; where it is possible reducing them to a great extent, and the effort for performing the change acceptable; in the case
of incineration plants: Adapt the flue gas treatment, especially a possible DeNOx step, to the real conditions; (2) make use
of modular process models that allow adapting plant parameters to better meet real conditions, but be aware of possible modelling
errors. We invite the scientific community to validate the model used for a waste incinerator plant, and suggest putting up
similar models for other processes, preferably those of similar relevance for Life Cycle Inventories. 相似文献
19.
LCA in Japan: policy and progress 总被引:1,自引:0,他引:1
David Hunkeler Itaru Yasui Ryoichi Yamamoto 《The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment》1998,3(3):124-130
A summary of the current Japanese activities related to Life Cycle Assessment are presented with a specific comparison of Life Cycle Impact Assessment in relation to European tendencies. Japanese organizations involved in LCA, recent legislation impacting LCA activities and LCA case studies are also tabulated. The LCA priorities of policy makers and industrialists are discussed in comparison and compared to those in the United States. Projects within the Life Cycle Assessment Society of Japan and the Man-Earth Project are highlighted including the construction of a public LCI data base and the prediction of 21st century environmental crises. 相似文献